Totomi province

• Japanese: 遠江国 (Toutoumi no kuni) or 遠州 (Enshuu)

Present western Shizuoka prefecture.

Han in Totomi

• Kakegawa han 掛川藩
• Hamamatsu han 浜松藩
• Yokosuka han 横須賀藩
• Sagara han 相良藩
• Horie han 堀江藩
• Iitani han 井伊谷藩
• Kakezuka han 掛塚藩
• Totomi Kuno han 遠江久野藩

Districts

• Haibara district 榛原郡
• Shuchi district 周智郡
• Iwata district 磐田郡
• Hamana district 浜名郡
• Sano district 佐野郡
• Toyoda district 豊田郡
• Nagakami district 長上郡
• Inasa district 引佐郡
• Kito district 城東郡
• Yamana district 山名郡
• Fuchi district 敷知郡
• Aratama district 麁玉郡

Hereditary Shugo Family

• Shiba/Imagawa

History

As with many of the provinces that can be paired as 'front' or 'back', Totomi province can be paired with Omi province, for while Omi is the "near faint sea", Totomi is the "distant faint sea". This is likely a reference to Lake Hamana and may have originated from its position in antiquity as the outer reaches of the Yamato polity (Hara 1986). In 642, an imperial edict conscripting workers from around the country designated that span as 'from Totomi in the east to Aki in the west'.

Throughout history, Totomi has been closely connected with the provinces of Ise and Mikawa due to their geographical locations. According to the Nihongi, by the early 8th century, soon after a visit by Empress Jito (r. 686-697) in 702, Totomi was designated as a chugoku, or "province of middling distance" from the capital, while Mikawa was considered a kinkoku, or "province near to" the capital.

The Tokaido, or Eastern Sea Route, was officially named in the latter half of the 7th century and passed north of Lake Hamana. This was one of the routes designated throughout the country for conducting official business, and continued to be used throughout Japan's history, later becoming one of the major routes for daimyo traveling to Edo for the sankin kôtai.

Since the mid-5th century, the Mononobe family and their kin appear to have been powerful in the region as provincial chieftains. Evidence including genealogies, place names, and local legends seem to point to a connection with the Mononobe playing a large role in the early history of Totomi and nearby provinces.

In 772, eight townships were carved out of Saya district to form the Yamana district. Of those eight, six were listed in the Heian-period Wamyosho. A Tokugawa period gazeteer, Kakegawa shiko, mentions that the Yamana district was so named by dropping the 'shi' off of Yamanashi--possibly the original name for the district.

References

• Piggot, Joan R. (ed). Capital and Countryside in Japan, 300-1180, Cornell University, NY, 2006.